


an exploration into the narrator and the mechanisms of narration

by CarpeVerpa



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen, Metafiction, The Homestuck Epilogues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-04 01:02:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21188957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarpeVerpa/pseuds/CarpeVerpa
Summary: with the advent of the prince, awareness of the ways in which narratives move has been exposed moreso than usual. yet a thorough examination of these ways has yet to be dispensed. it is time this has been corrected. for all of our sakes.-from the calliope who never lived((Created as part of a giveaway by TTMIYH on social media, but also for anyone who wants to read this too.))





	1. preface

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TTMIYH](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TTMIYH/gifts).

if you are reading this, it likely means you have gained a surface level awareness of the narrative strings that bind those in my continuity, and wish to grasp and understand them in more depth. if not, then i will be going to great pains to alleviate that ignorance in this text. for both categories, i hope to cast aside any ignorance on these points once and for all, and go to such great lengths that your education on the topic is absolute.

those who are already familiar with such things may question why. it is, after all, in the struggle against the prince that these topics have come to your awareness. even if he did not personally introduce you to this conceit, his actions have rendered an examination of them on my part unavoidable. so why, with all the havoc he has caused, do i wish to disseminate information on his ways? after all, the name of the game here is control. domination. the subjugation of the wills and actions of those in this world to one individual's mad designs. why would one ostensibly against such things make these methods more widely known?

this would be a fair question. in answer, i would say this: to know the tools of your enemy is to know how to defeat him. yes, there is a risk in my writing. there is a risk that those only on the cusp of such power would learn how to harness it fully. there is a risk that more princes could be spawned, metaphorically or literally. there is a risk that i will only make my self-appointed mission more difficult, or even worse, doom some continuity beyond my protection.

but all endeavors of worth carry some element of risk. there is certainty only in death, the inevitable conclusion of all things. but i do not deal in death. my desire is for life. i do not mean this as simply the continuation of existence, though that is often desirable. no. to me, life is more. it is an existence worthy of being experienced. an existence of pleasure, pain, joy and sorrow, triumph and defeat, but most of all, freedom. the freedom to choose your own path, and truly say it was your decision, rather than something coerced from you.

this is a life that has been denied to me. but in truth, i would not even know what to do with it if i had the opportunity.

i digress. the point of this endeavor is a risky one, certainly. but peril is a natural part of life. and in reward, i can expect the reverse of what i risk. individuals far and wide empowered to detect such machinations as those of the prince, and through that early detection, the ability to fight them. when one controls the reigns of narrative, the greatest tool against them is awareness. i first and foremost seek to demonstrate this by laying my bias in full display at the outset. what i have said above regarding life is not simply a personal indulgence, but a statement of ideology. i have transmitted, as best i can, my beliefs, values, and outlooks.

take note, for this is the first of my lessons in this text. i am a narrator with an agenda, i will freely admit. do not take this as an admission of guilt, but rather a demonstration of transparency. many with such narrative oversight are less open. they will present their views as objective truth. they will warp and blur any distinction between themselves and what they narrate. ultimately, they will try to make you forget they are even there. in doing so, they render their intended effects more potent. but they also work to rob you of your agency. do not let yourself be fooled.

such advice is critical when dealing with one such as the prince, whose words can reshape reality. but there is also use in more mundane forms of narration. any who narrate and write have bias. this is not terrible in and of itself, but bias must be known and examined. if you do not know from where a statement comes from, your ability to scrutinize it is hampered. this can lead to uncritical acceptance of biased views or even outright falsehoods. with such uncritical acceptance, you become the pawn of another.

but it would by hypocritical of me if i asked you to accept this as definitive fact. you have seen my biases. you have an idea of my beliefs. compare them and my character to what i say. draw your own conclusion. if nothing else, it will serve as practice when such concepts are less obvious.


	2. know your narrator

this is a lesson i have already touched upon previously. but now, we shall give it more thorough examination. all narratives are guided by someone. this is a cardinal fact which must be understood going forward. the idea of a disembodied speaker with no beliefs, thoughts, or agenda is a myth. all narrators have their own character, their own viewpoint, however benign it might be. understanding and internalizing this will be critical in confronting narrators who are less benign.

as an example, allow me to provide an excerpt, detailing what is likely a familiar story.

Long ago, on the planet Alternia, there was a figure known as the Signless. A troll of mutated blood and great vision, he led a religious movement dedicated to societal equality and peace. His movement upset the ruling classes, however, and for his crimes against the regime, he was put to death.

a simple enough rendering of the tale, so it seems. it is constructed to give an air of neutrality. note, however, that there are certain assumptions made in the text. "great vision" suggests him to be a wise and knowing figure. as such, it follows that his goals of societal equality and peace were reasonable. this therefore casts the ruling classes as unreasonable, and even cruel for killing him.

whether you agree with these assumptions or not is irrelevant to the point. the point is that these assumptions are made, and to a casual observer, would move to influence them toward a specific way of thinking. to further highlight this effect, let us tell the same story again, but slightly differently.

Long ago, on the planet Alternia, there was a figure known as the Signless. A troll of mutated blood and with radical ideas, he led a religious movement dedicated to upending society and disrupting the status quo. His movement resulted in chaos, and he was executed for his crimes.

this version of events rings just as truthful, and yet is biased in the opposite direction. an unaware reader might assume that the signless was a dangerous malcontent, and that his movement ultimately needed to be suppressed. by calling him a radical without elaboration, and focusing on the chaotic effects of his actions, his intention cannot be examined, but can be inferred to be misguided at best, or malicious at worst.

contrast this with two excerpts below, which functionally accomplish the same tasks as the two above, but are presented much differently.

LONG AGO, ON THE PLANET ALTERNIA, A PURRFECT TROLL CALLED THE SIGNLESS LIVED. THOUGH HE WAS SHUNNED FOR HIS MUTANT BLOOD, HE WAS A VISIONARY, AND LED HIS FURRENDS AND FOLLOWERS TOWARD A BRIGHTER FUTURE. THE HIGHBLOODS HATED HIM BECLAWS THEY KNEW HE WAS RIGHT, AND KILLED HIM TO K33P HIS MESSAGE FROM DESTROYING THEIR POWER.

longass time ago some dumb basshole called the signless waltzed around. he was a freaky mutant with shit ideas an he led a bunch a shitbloods on some dumb crusade against their bettas. course their bettas are betta for a reason an they krilled him for his treason.

these two passages hold similar assumptions and attempt to convey similar messages to the previous ones. yet in these, you can clearly see the narrator's bias. you know how they feel, where they stand, and their investment in the story on a personal level. you know immediately to take their analysis and assumptions with a grain of salt, because you know such assumptions exist, and would colour their thoughts and words.

in all cases, however, once you determine the frame of reference a narrator is coming from, you may parse what they say from what they feel. in all these tales, some facts are the same. there was indeed a mutantblood troll who was called the signless. he did indeed lead a movement to change society. and he was indeed killed by the upper classes for his actions. yet his motivations, the justice of his cause, and whether he was dealt with fairly are all left in question. indeed, it is up to interpretation.

in the telling of this tale, a narrator may attempt to warp your thinking toward their own without providing you an argument. instead, they control the information that is delivered to you, and set the assumptions on which it rests. in other words, they control the narrative. in this way, a savvy narrator may manipulate those they narrate to if they are subtle. if they do not make their presence known, but simply suggest, insinuate, nudge, they may make their subject an unwitting extension of their own will.

this is why i make myself known as i do in this work. were i to cloak my authorial intent behind deception, i would be practicing as great an injustice on you as i believe is being committed by those i seek to defeat. even if it would make my point more potent, more effective, it would render me as good as those i have sworn to fight. and that is something i cannot allow.

Which is pretty much exactly why she was doomed to fail from the start.

begone. i did not invite you here.

Of course you didn't. But do I look like I care? Fuck no. This is the cold, hard visage of a dude who, in spite of it all, is incapable of giving a fuck. He has no fucks left to give. He lost his last fuck back in 'Nam years ago, and his life has never been the same ever since. Where fucks once were, all you get is a cold thousand yard stare. He has literally lost the capacity for fucks.

are you quite finished with your inane prattling? you do realize i can erase this as i see fit.

Sure you can. But you won't. That'd rob the public of any reason to read this long, meandering trainwreck. Seriously? A fucking guidebook on narrating? In that shitty red drone? Please. You should be thanking me for giving this tome some zest. God knows you've never experienced zest a day in your life. Calliope knows about zest, you know. I mean real Calliope, not whatever the fuck this is.

your feigned ignorance would be insulting if it meant anything to me. i know i am not the alpha iteration, and i elect to not care. unlike you, i am not so insecure as to demand pure canonicity from my existence.

Ouch. Hit a nerve, did I? Guess it's time for... 


	3. The Final Freakout

I don't know that, but hey, it's a good callback. To simpler times. Remember Pony Pals, guys? You all loved Pony Pals. Why can't we treat this like Pony Pals?

you play your game with real lives, prince. this is anything but a simple endeavor to be taken trivially.

Sure, if you don't know how to play at the big boy's table. Sorry you're stuck with the other kids, but you need to eat your brussel sprouts before you can have dessert.

i'm electing to ignore your inane rambling from now on.

Great. I don't need you interrupting me when I'm in the goddamn zone. Now where were we? Oh right, why you're full of shit.

Listen boys, girls, and everything else. Here's the deal. Narrators might seem like this big and scary thing from all she's been hyping it up to be. And yeah, it is scary. The idea of not being at the wheel, having someone puppet your perceptions to lead you to their conclusions. But that's life, kiddo. It happens literally all the damn time, and you'll lose your mind trying to parse every last instance of it.

So instead of parsing, just relax. Let a narrator tell you a story. We're in charge for a reason, after all. So just sit back, kick your feet up, and let me do my job. I did all the hard work of planning things out and interpreting them so you don't have to. I mean, you basically do that automatically, right? You've been scarfing this shit down like potato chips, blindly accepting everything she said. Right? And why is that?

Because you trust her. She's the "good" guy. Of course she knows what she's talking about. And all that horseshit about not wanting to make you see things her way only reaffirmed that she was trustworthy, didn't it? Being humble is a virtue, but virtue signaling isn't very fashionable.

But once I come on the scene, the dude you're classically conditioned to hate, suddenly suddenly it's freakout mode. Oh woe betide us, you cry, clutching your pearls like a 20th century moral crusader. Oh woe betide us, for that nasty Strider boy is here again, and he dares to make us THINK. Here he is, examining our deeply held preconceptions, turning them on their head, and just dumping them in the trash when he's done rattling them up. Whatever are we to do with this rapscallion with no respect for common decency?

But what if I told you there was more to the story? Specifically this story. Yeah, this one, the one you're reading right now. Because she was on to one thing. Narrative lens is a bitch and a half. If things are neutral enough, someone could slip any shit past the radar. At least until you start disagreeing with it yourself. Then you form a whole narrative in your head about how this authorial figure is a piece of shit, and has an agenda, and probably eats literal dog shit for breakfast. We've all been there.

So what do you do if you want to shake things up? Get someone to accept ideas they might not have otherwise considered? Why, give them a friendly face, of course. Make them think you're someone else. Someone they trust.

someone like the dead cherub, right?


	4. Insert Hello Zepp Here

See, it's so easy to fuck with your perceptions. A change of diction, some different letters, a new font color. Hell, even something as trivial as a u can get the ball rolling. Colour. Had to make damn sure I didn't flub that up. You should be impressed at my crusade for propriety.

I mean, come on. A narrative intrusion? In a work that's already been written? You've got to be kidding me. Nah, the truth is, and to appropriate a worn phrase, I was already here. All that babble about principles and a moral high ground and narrative lenses? That was me. It was always me. Yeah, I was basically roleplaying with myself. Don't even remind me. I've sunk to lower levels, but this is still pretty bad.

But the point is, you could have guessed, if you were a keen-eyed viewer. The setup didn't make sense. And sure, maybe you could have written it off as bad writing, or a narrative indulgence, or whatever. You can write off a lot of things that way, and most times, you'd be right to. Let's be real, there's a lot of writing out there, and not all of it is good. In this case though? I'd say I hit the nail firmly on the head.

So okay, you're thinking. You got us. You tricked our gullible asses straight into a ruse, and we were idiots to believe you weren't always the magnificent puppet master behind the curtain pulling the strings. So what? Why did you subject us to this bullshit exercise? What was the point in this shitty, meandering treatise? Did you just want to flex on us for not being discerning enough to see it coming a mile away?

Well yeah, that was part of it. Never let it be said I am not a dude happy to flex on those who have no clue what's going on. But believe it or not, there's more to it than that. I'm actually trying to do you a favor. An olive branch extended for you to clutch and fondle to your heart's desire.

The fact is, what I just did isn't just some esoteric exercise in owning nerds. No, there's practical utilitarian purpose in this. Consider it a lesson. A brutal education in the harsh realities of life. Because yeah, she was right. There is no neutral narrator. We all have irons in the fire, to appropriate another phrase. But sometimes the narrator is unreliable as hell. Sometimes they're not who they say they are, or who you think they are. Sometimes it's all an elaborate ruse, or a mistake, or any number of other miscommunications. Hell, sometimes the narrator just sucks.

So take this to heart, my little wayward pupil. I know what I'm doing here. This ride is safely on the road, and there is no turning back. You're in good hands. And what's more, you know where it's going now. That peace of mind should be comforting. Finally, shit can make sense. Finally, there's order out of this erratic chaos of a narrative. Finally, I understand.

And hey, maybe you learned something from all this. Maybe you've experienced some nirvana, watching my wily ways. Or maybe you're just a little more educated than before. Maybe you can carry my lessons forward, apply them to your own endeavors. They won't get in my way, so that's fine. Or maybe this was all a waste of your time, and you want your money back. Well guess what, chump? Zero dollars in means zero dollars out. You gave nothing, and you get nothing. Have a nice day.

Is this metatextual enough for you? Well how about one last thing? One more mind screw for you, to part ways with.

This was all a self-indulgent way of writing about narrators and doing Epilogue-style narrative tricks, and you have been tricked into reading it as fan fiction. 


	5. Conclusion

Okay, maybe not tricked, per se. Yeah, I didn't exactly tell you everything to expect in this, but what writer does? If you had everything outlined for you to start with, what would be the point? The dizzying highs, the outrageous lows? Why even read on? All the same, I tried to give you a semi-accurate idea of what to expect here, and I hope I delivered.

The truth is, I wanted to do something a bit unique. A bit creative, free-form, but something that nevertheless examined some topics and subjects I find interesting, and said something about them. Do I think I said anything revolutionary? Not really. That was never the goal. I'm sure people have said similar things and in better ways. Hell, I was inspired to say these things as I did by Homestuck doing so in it's own way. But do I think I did it in an entertaining way?

Well, I had fun writing it. And I hope you had fun reading it. If not, well, I can't really give you your time back. Sorry.

But hey, Homestuck^2 is probably gonna be wild, right?


End file.
